Parables. What's the point?

What is the point of parables? Have you ever read parables in the bible and the stories all of a sudden made more sense? That is because that's the point of them. Jesus taught in parables so that we would be able to understand the things that He teaches us. It's a really cool way to do things. If Jesus taught speaking on only His terms and how He understood and how He could teach things, we would not understand. Parables are a great example of how Jesus was the perfect teacher.

I don't want this post to be very long, it's Friday and who wants to read something that is long and wordy on a Friday? 

The best way to write about this post is to show you what the word says. 

"To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand." (Matthew 13:11-14) 

That is the first part. Jesus taught in parables so that we can know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven. Jesus taught us in parables because we cannot see, and cannot hear the things he want to teach us. We can't understand. We aren't capable of understanding that. 

Here is what the prophecy of Isaiah that was fulfilled says: 

""You will indeed hear but never understand,

and you will indeed see but never perceive."

For the people's heart has grown dull,

and with their ears they can barely hear,

and their eyes they have closed,

lest they should see with their eyes

and hear with their ears

and understand with their heart

and turn, and I would heal them.' (Matthew 13:14-15)

Again, this prophecy was saying that we will never be able to understand, and that we will see but never perceive. Our hearts have grown dull on this earth, and our ears can barely hear, and our eyes have been closed. This world causes us to not be able to see or hear, and that is why Jesus had to preach/teach in parables. 

Here is how it finishes:

"But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it." (Matthew 13:16-17)

Blessed are our eyes, for they see and our ears, for they hear. We see and we do hear. Just not the way that we should most of the time. Think about all of the people who long to see what we seem and hear what we hear, but can't. Be so thankful. When Jesus Christ is your Lord and savior, not everyone understands that. People see that there is something different about you, yet they can't. People want to, but a lot of the time they cannot until they make that decision themselves. 

I hope this post was able to explain why the parables were used to teach us. Parables are super good and an awesome way to teach. Parables help explain things in an easy way to other people. I give silly examples in a lot of my posts so that these biblical stories make more sense. So what's the point? To teach in a simple and understandable manner.